


An Old-Fashioned Man

by vassalady



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: M/M, Marriage Proposal, Meeting the Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-16
Updated: 2012-07-16
Packaged: 2017-11-10 02:20:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/461197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vassalady/pseuds/vassalady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve meets Phil parents, they go dancing, and wedding bells ring.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Old-Fashioned Man

**Author's Note:**

> One day, I will write a Coulson/Steve fic that is actually well done. Today is not that day. But I offer this to you for the concept alone.

Steve was an old fashioned kind of guy. Phil was well aware of this fact. The first time Steve had asked him out, Phil only found out it was a date when Steve tried to pay for dinner.

"But I asked you on this date," Steve said.

Phil, very touched, explained that most people went dutch these days. And then he explained what going dutch meant.

Exactly eight months after that (yeah, Phil was counting, he liked keeping dates), Steve asked about meeting Phil's parents. After much middle-of-the-night deliberation, Phil finally arranged an evening dinner at his parents‘. It would be the first time he'd brought anyone to meet them since joining SHIELD.

So long as his mother didn't bring up his Captain America footie pajamas that he'd worn until it was far too tight (he eventually had to chop off the feet), it would go well enough.

His parents lived in a senior apartment that Phil affectionately called "the home." The joke was lost on Steve. Phil didn't mind.

The dinner went better than expected. No footie pajamas were mentioned, even though the albums came out, his mom went on and on about what life after the war was like, and his dad shared his own father's stories, many of which Steve laughed along with and shared some relevant story of his own. They spoke easily of current politics (Steve was a quick and engaged learner), and they moved easily from the results of the last local election to gay marriage to the collapse of the euro. Steve followed most of their film references, courtesy of the many movie dates they'd had.

It was surreal to see his parents and Steve interact, sharing old stories, yet having a vastly different perspective and interpretation of them. His mother, born the year Captain America appeared, and his father, born when they won the war, were old, yet Steve, young, beautiful Steve, had grown up well before that, but he lacked the experience his parents had. Phil reconciled Captain America's age disparity easily enough in his head. He was a symbol and therefore ageless. More often, he had difficulty seeing Steve in the same way. Steve was a man, a real person, a vulnerability Captain America didn't have.

"So, Captain America," his mom said as they did the dishes. Steve and his dad were in the next room, looking at old slides.

"Yes," Phil said.

His mom sighed, putting the sponge down. "I always thought you would grow out of it."

Phil had more than one memory of his mom asking him if he really needed that collectable dinnerware set or yet another action figure.

"Mom. Please. Steve is more than Captain America."

"I know, honey." She squeezed his arm. "It's just... strange. But he's a lovely young man."

Of course, and Phil would never admit this to his mother, he loved seeing Steve in uniform. It had a very lovely view from behind.

When they were finished, they joined his dad and Steve. The two men were silent and contemplative, and the night ended on a somber, awkward note.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Phil said as they rode the elevator down.

Steve smiled at him, genuine. "Very lovely people. They raised a good son, I'm not surprised." He glanced down at Phil with a smirk. "A very nice son." 

Phil had to straighten his shirt when they left the elevator.

He didn't ask what Steve had talked about with his dad. He found out two weeks later anyway.

They'd gone dancing. It wasn't the first time, but Steve had been fidgety and distracted, and he turned down Phil's suggestion of just staying in that night.

Once, Steve had been hesitant about dancing with Phil. Now, he led Phil out to the dance floor with ease.

It was a nice place, live band, very classy. They were well into the night when the singer announced, "This one goes out to a very special guy named Phil," and the band began playing “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.”

They swayed to the music, and as Phil looked up at Steve, he wondered what kind of amazing world he lived in that he could be so lucky.

And then Steve showed just how old fashioned he really was. In the middle of the song, he said, “I have something I’d like to ask you.” With slightly reddened cheeks, Steve dropped to one knee and pulled out a ring. “Phil Coulson, will you do me the honor of marrying me?

Stunned, Phil could only stare. He was vaguely aware of the other dancers watching them. But he was more focused on Steve’s earnest face and the golden ring nestled in the black box.

“Phil?” Steve prompted. And when Phil still couldn’t find anything to say, Steve went on. “I asked your father. He was... well, I think he was fine with it. Some talk about doing right by you and expectations and grandchildren and something about pajamas.”

Phil counted to ten, sent up thanks to every deity (even if those deities all ended up being aliens bent on destroying the earth) for giving them both another chance at life and said, “Yes, Steve. I’ll marry you.”

The smile on Steve’s face was worth every past break up, every career decision, almost dying, and even those threadbare and torn pajamas, which Phil still had squirreled away somewhere.

They had a longer engagement, and then the day finally came. Over a year after Steve‘s proposal, they walked down the aisle together, stood among their friends and family (and one or five press cameras), and promised to be with one another for the rest of their lives.

The marriage wasn’t as important to Phil as it was to Steve. It was enough to know that Steve loved and respected him. But Steve was old-fashioned, and it was an integral part of his idea of commitment. Phil was happy to go along.

Thankfully, Steve didn‘t play the proper gentleman in all areas of their relationship. On their wedding night, they were well beyond the stage of playing blushing newlyweds.


End file.
